A MAJORITY OF SCOUNDRELS

by Don Berry

Is a lively and captivating history of the formative years of the American fur trade, the period in which the Rocky Mountain Fur Company, with its corps of trappers and traders, grew to be "the greatest name in the mountains."

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Historical

Paperback

First published March 1, 1971

About the author

Primarily known for his historical novels of early Oregon country -- Trask, Moontrap, and To Build a Ship -- Don Berry lived and worked from 1974 until his death in 2001 as a writer, painter, musician, sculptor, instrument maker, poet, and Zen practitioner on Vashon Island, in Seattle, and at Eagle Harbor on Bainbridge Island. He ventured into educational software in the pioneering days of computers, authored scripts for adventure films, wrote commissioned books, and built a website called Berryworks for his own unpublished fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and philosophy. Berry developed his writing skills with science fiction stories in the 1950s, but it is his trilogy of novels and his non-fiction history A Majority of Scoundrels (all written and published between 1960 and 1963) for which he is best remembered. With them, he helped create a new Northwest fiction style. Journalist Jeff Baker has called him "Reed's Forgotten Beat" for his work, his practice of Eastern metaphysics, and his longtime friendship with poets Gary Snyder (b. 1930) and Philip Whalen (1923-2002), an association that began at Reed College in Portland in the 1950s. Berry's novels, and Scoundrels, were republished between 2004 and 2006 by Oregon State University Press.

Reviews

[Greg Strandberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great history of the American fur trapping industry in the late-1820s and early- to mid-1830s. The book was written in 1961 and I highly recommend it.

It’s a good history of the Upper Missouri fur trade after Lewis and Clark. It’s very detailed. There’s a very good account of the 1828 rendezvous haul, which the men hauled back down to St. Louis themselves, meaning $2 a pound better on furs.

I liked the anecdotes and stories. One I remember has one traveler was reaching for his rifle under a wagon. He reached down and grabbed it, the barrel pointing at him. It got caught and the trigger pulled and shot into his elbow.

The wound went gangrenous and they had to do some trail surgery: knifes made hot in the fire. They cut it off and he was good.

Another account tells us of one of the early-1830s seasons and its take. There were 7,107.5 pounds of beaver fur and a few other animal skins. It's value was $35,810.75 and $20,000 of that went to pay off the Rocky Mountain Fur Company's debt to William Henry Ashley. All told the principles made $6,000 in profit, or $145,000 in today's dollars.

You just get tons of details like that and if this period interests you, you’ll like this book.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Majority of Scoundrels tells the history of the Rocky Mountain fur trade between 1822 to 1834, with a focus on the rise and fall of the Rocky Mountain Fur Company.

As you can imagine, the history includes plenty of incredible stories of starvation and death in the wilderness and conflicts with Native Americans and bears. The stories of famed trappers such as Bill Sublette, Jim Bridger, Joe Meek, Jedediah Smith, and Tom Fitzpatrick are all included. Hugh Glass’s incredible story of surviving a Grizzly bear attack, as recently depicted in the movie The Revenant with Leo Dicaprio, is featured and the true story is almost more incredible than the fictionalized movie version. The reason why the Blackfeet were such a feared tribe becomes readily apparent.

The book emphasizes the economic factors in the Rocky Mountain Fur Co.’s competition with the various other companies operating in the mountains, principally the American Fur Co. (John Jacob Astor) and Hudson Bay Co. It discusses the first Rendezvous of 1825 and how it set a precedence for the organization of the American fur trade in the west, not to mention establishing a mountain institution that continues to be celebrated today. The book also discusses the important role alcohol played in taking advantage of Native Americans in trade.

Perhaps most surprising for me was to learn that after the collapse of the mountain fur trade the route used by the fur trappers to supply Rendezvous and cross the divide was used by settlers as part of the Oregon Trail and the old fur trappers served as guides for the wagon trains.

An interesting read for those wanting to delve into the history of the fur trade.

[Larry Edwards · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a must-read for anyone interested the American fur trade and historical re-enactors.

Informative and easy-to-read book on the American 19th century fur trade. The title pretty much says it all. No romanticizing the "mountain men" or their impact on -- positive and negative -- on the western frontier and the expansion of the U.S. across the North American continent.

I have a collectible first-edition hardcover (not the cover depicted here), which I recommend if you want own a copy; it includes maps. However, if you do find one you want to buy, be prepared to part with some $$$ -- and make sure the maps are included.

[jj · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a fan of Berry's work. Unlike his fictional work, this is an historical narrative, well researched, and written in a story-telling-around-the-campfire style. I'd recommend it to American history buffs.

[Richard Jr. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an old book (1961). Therefore, don't go into it expecting it to read like the more upbeat modern history tomes. But Don Berry did a great job of researching it and documenting the facts of the early mountain men and explorers on the western frontier. The book is written in proper time sequence, so you are able to follow the events leading up to Hugh Glass's ordeal, currently rewritten in The Revenant and made into a film. You will note that Don Berry doesn't take as much author license with the facts, including what actually happened following that incident. The begin of the demise of the fur trading industry is documented at the end of the book, of course, those who were flexible moved on, and those who didn't ... I enjoyed the book and will use some references for later writing ideas when I get onto the the writing of my western series.

[Stephany Wilkes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating story of the role that mountain men and trappers had in the settlement of the American West, full of incredible tales: three days in deserts and nearly dying of dehydration; living on onions; the intriguing role of the Hudson's Bay Company in far more than trade, including security, borders, and more (I honestly had no idea of how strong a role they played in the formation of U.S. territories and subsequently the nation); exploration and trail making; and so much more. I don't think I'd ever really learned the history of the American West, or understood how people moved through it, until I read this book. Definitely a major omission from my history education and one I'm so glad Berry remedied for me.

[Jwt Jan50 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Early winter '72 I saw Jeremiah Johnson and shortly thereafter came across this in the bookstore. The last book I read before entering AOCS. It's a great popular history of the fur trading industry. I would recommend reading it with Guthrie's The Big Sky just because there is a lot of detail and personalities involved. Twenty years later this would lead me to works on the Hudson Bay Company, Lewis and Clark, Kit Carson's autobiography, Fremont's expeditions, Powell in the Grand Canyon and Life Among the Apaches.

[Carolyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I totally stalled out on this one and now it's due back at the library so unfinished it will be! I loved Trask by Don Berry but found this book too impersonal without characters I could latch on to. Sigh

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great insight into an era and location that is oft over looked in our history books. The movie Jerimah Johnson represents much of what this book is about.

[Ed · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great read. A new perspective on trappers as well as the role they played in the history of the west.

[Dale · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such fun to explore the history of the American west and get to know characters like Jedediah Smith.

[Gary · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best studies of the Mountain men and their trade.